


take my whole life too

by ShyAudacity



Series: Riverdale Prompt Fills [15]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, Crying, Dreams and Nightmares, Established Relationship, Gunshot Wounds, Hospitals, Hurt Archie Andrews, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Season/Series 01, Prompt Fill, Shooting, Whump, Worried Fred, Worried Jughead Jones, beronica is only hinted at sorry, ill add more tags if i think of anything, non descriptive so dont worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2017-11-14
Packaged: 2019-02-02 13:08:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12727161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShyAudacity/pseuds/ShyAudacity
Summary: Archie steps into the line of fire just before the gun goes off. The pain is unlike anything that he’s ever felt before, it knocks him on his ass in a second. He can almost feel the bullet lodged in between his ribs. He hears the bell ring above the door, and then his Dad is there, pulling Archie into his grip.Fred rambles, “You’re okay, it’s okay, you’re gonna be just fine, kiddo.”Archie starts to cry. He can’t help it; he’s terrified. He doesn’t want to go yet, not like this, at least.ORanon asked: Archie gets shot instead of Fred. Worried riverdale fam. Panicked Fred and jug.





	take my whole life too

**Author's Note:**

> This probably isn't exactly what the anon wanted but thats fine. 
> 
> Unbeta'd and title from Can't Help Falling In Love

Archie steps into the line of fire just before the gun goes off. The pain is unlike anything that he’s ever felt before, it knocks him on his ass in a second. He can almost feel the bullet lodged in between his ribs. He hears the bell ring above the door, and then his Dad is there, pulling Archie into his grip.

Fred rambles, “You’re okay, it’s okay, you’re gonna be just fine, kiddo.”

Archie starts to cry. He can’t help it; he’s terrified. He doesn’t want to go yet, not like this, at least.

“Hurts.” He grunts.

Fred holds him a little tighter.

“I know, I know buddy, just hang on. Help is coming.”

Archie lies there in his father’s lap, crying and shaking against his collar bone for another ten minutes before they realize that help isn’t coming. He cries when Fred pulls him to his feet and out to the truck. Archie watches the blood seep between his fingers as they drive to the hospital. He whines audibly again.  

Fred squeezes Archie’s shoulder, trying to keep him conscious.

“Just keep looking at me, okay Arch? Just keep talkin’ to me kid.”

Archie starts to lose his bearings when they pull up to the hospital. He feels floaty and is having trouble remembering how he got here in the first place, thinks for a second that he might be going into shock. After half walking half stumbling inside, everything goes foggy after two nurses put him on a stretcher. Archie feels his senses fall away from him. A part of him wishes that Jughead was there, wishes that he’d gotten to say something more to him. He wonders who’s going to have to break the news to Jughead, what his reaction would be. He can’t imagine that it would be good.

Archie finally loses consciousness as he’s looking up at the bright fluorescent lights of the emergency room. He thinks to himself: _it’s not supposed to be like this._

***

Fred calls Jughead first, then his ex-wife Mary, and then Betty. His hands shake so badly that he can barely hold the phone; he’s not sure that he actually says anything coherent to any of them.

It’s a miracle that Jughead doesn’t crash his Dad’s motorcycle on his way to the hospital. He’s not entirely sure how he got there, he’s too busy trying not to lose the coffee that he had for breakfast that morning.

Everyone else is already there when he arrives. Betty and Veronica are sitting next to each other and holding hands, looking as sad and stoic as ever. Fred, on the other hand, looks like his whole world has just fallen apart.

Jughead doesn’t have to guess to know that that’s true. He makes a beeline for Fred Andrews when he walks in.

Fred stops pacing as soon as he sees Jughead. He struts over to him, trying not to cry as he holds Jughead against his chest. Fred rubs a firm hand down his back when he feels Jughead start to shake.

Jughead pulls away first, eyes darting around.

“Wha- how did- who-.”

“I don’t know,” Fred interrupts, squeezing Jughead’s shoulders. “The guy fled before anyone could stop him.”

“Wh-Where’s Archie? I wanna see him.”

“He’s in surgery right now, Jug. It’ll be awhile before-.”

Fred stops when his phone begins to ring in his pocket.

“Shit, it’s Mary, I should- Mare?”

Fred walks away from Jughead as he continues the phone call.

Jughead stands there unsure of what to do with himself, looking like a lost child in the middle of the waiting room. He nearly jumps out of his skin when a hand touches his shoulder.

“Why don’t you come sit down, Jug?” Betty says.

Jughead shudders as he sits between the two girls. It doesn’t take long before he breaks down, before he starts to have a panic attack because _my boyfriend just got shot and I don’t know how bad it is. I can’t this take this._ He crumples into Betty’s lap, allowing her to shush and comfort him though he knows it won’t work. Jughead cries himself dry, both trying and failing to not think about all of the ways that this could go bad.

***

Archie finds himself staring at Pop’s ceiling when he opens his eyes. He sits up and realizes that he’s alone, not a single sound comes from anywhere in the diner. He could have sworn he’d been somewhere else when he’d fallen asleep, but he can’t remember where for some reason.

“Pop? Pop, are you here?”

Archie pushes himself to his feet. It’s not until he’s wiping his hands on his jeans that he realizes that _nothing_ hurts. Looking down, there’s no blood on the floor. His skin is unharmed when he pulls up his shirt to inspect it. Feeling both nervous and confused, he walks over to the door and pushes it open.

His confusion only rises when he ends up in a school hallway.

“What the hell?” He asks out loud.

Archie makes a run for the nearest exit, thinks he’s home free until he looks up and realizes that he just stumbled into his living room.

For a second, Archie isn’t even sure that it’s his house. All of the furniture is gone and the curtains are torn up, looking as though they’d been made a meal of by moths. It doesn’t look like anyone has lived there in years. He doesn’t want to think about what that could possibly mean.

“Dad?” He calls out. “Juggie? Vegas?”

No answer comes and his worry only increases. He decides that he doesn’t want to stay this haunted house version of home anymore. Archie opens the front door and finds a gun pointed in his face.

A man in a homemade black hood is standing in front of him, expression unreadable.

“Better luck next time, Andrews.”

The gun cocks and then-.

***

Jughead feels like he’s going to be sick to his stomach if he has to sit in this waiting room any longer. The last time that he was in a waiting room, Forsythe Sr. had just shot himself, and everyone was yelling at each other over what they should do about it. At least then he’d had Jellybean to keep his mind off things, she had only been four at the time.

He thinks about calling her now, then decides against it. It’s not even ten in the morning, and Jellybean is still just a kid. He doesn’t need to burden her with this, or make her scared to return to Riverdale for that matter.

Jughead perks up when he sees Fred walking towards him.

“C’mon,” He says. “Archie’s being allowed visitors now.”

Jughead can’t stand up fast enough. The walk to Archie’s room feels like it’s never going to end. As he follows Fred through the endless hallways, Jughead clenches and unclenches his fists, trying to keep them from shaking.  He stands outside the door for a moment, feeling his chest constrict as he sees Archie lying in there all alone, looking impossibly small in the wide bed.

“Can I have a moment alone with him?” Jughead asks Fred.

Fred nods, squeezing Jughead’s shoulder again.

“Sure thing, kiddo. I should go give Mary an update- I’ll be back in a minute, okay?”

Jughead nods, watching as Fred moves down the hallway. Jughead has to breathe deeply before going inside, a half assed attempt at calming himself down. His chin trembles as he sees Archie fully for the time, there are so many tubes going under the blankets and stuck into Archie’s skin that Jughead can’t where one ends and another begins. He sits at Archie’s right side, wanting to keep an eye on the door.

Jughead pulls his beanie off his head, turns it over in hand a few times.

“D’you remember when I got my hat?” Jughead asks quietly. “We were six and I smashed head against the banister at your house when we were playing tag… had to get eight stitches in my head. You were so excited to give me this stupid hat, said that it would protect me from getting hurt again. I drove my parents crazy after that. I refused to take it off for almost a week until they threatened to throw it away.”

He laughs a little, then reaches for Archie’s hand. Jughead tucks the beanie into his hand, curling Archie’s fingers around the fabric. He picks up Archie’s hand, holds the knuckles against his mouth as he continues to speak.

“You’ve always been so willing to give to others…to help them. I think that’s why I liked you so much. You’ve done so much for me, Arch. I can’t imagine where I would be without you. I know that you’re probably tired of all this shit that’s been going on, and this is gonna hurt like hell when you wake up, but just-…  _Please_ , please come back to me.”

Jughead lets a tear slip out as he watches Archie breathe, wishing that there was something more that he could do to fix this.

***

Archie wakes up in Pop’s again, gasping this time. He feels like he’s going to be sick to his stomach. Stumbling to his feet, he makes his way to the bathroom. Yet, instead of falling to his knees in front of the toilet, he finds himself on the sidelines of the football field, a game going on right in front of him.

Turning around as he stands up, Archie realizes that the whole crowd is dressed in black. He looks down, realizing that his own t-shirt and jeans have been replaced with a black suit. People pass by him without so much as acknowledging him, Archie runs over when he sees Betty and Veronica standing a few feet away, standing in their cheer uniforms.

“Betty?” He says. “Betty, what’s going on?”

Betty doesn’t even look at him, remains blank-faced and oblivious.

Veronica turns to her, hand on her arm.

“He’s in a better place now, B.”

“I know,” She says. “I just miss him. I still can’t believe that he’s gone.”

Archie yells, “What the hell are you guys talking about? Who’s gone? Who died?”

When they walk away, his head starts to spin. Why would his friends ignore him? Why is everyone acting like he isn’t even there?

Out of nowhere a newspaper appears at his feet. Archie picks it up; the headline makes his blood run cold.

_Golden Boy Archie Andrews dies in Pop’s Robbery gone wrong. Town finds it hard to recover._

He lets the paper fall to the ground, shaking his head. Archie yells at the suddenly roaring crowd.

“No, no this isn’t right. It’s not supposed to be like this. I’m not done… I’m not done!”

Archie looks over his shoulder just as a lineman runs right for him and-.

***

Jughead is half way to asleep when he watches Archie’s eyes flutter open.

The first thing that Archie is sure of is the dull ache spread across his body, mostly in his chest. Next, the tube going down his throat feels fucking _weird_. Then, Jughead is squeezing his hand and talking to him quietly.

“Arch? Archie, can you hear me?”

Archie nods as best he can and Jughead’s tough façade fails him, tears spilling out of his eyes once again. He thinks that he’s going to have a heart attack. He’s back, Archie is _back_. Jughead looks up, spots Fred standing right outside the room, and then waves him inside.

Fred bursts in so quickly that he thinks he’s going to break the door down, but he doesn’t care. When he realizes that his son is awake, he starts to cry for the first time all day. It’s impossible to hold his emotions in any longer. He grabs Archie’s hand, catching his attention.

Archie slowly looks over at his dad, trying to smile around the tube.

“Hey, hey kiddo I’m here.” Fred says, his voice almost failing him. “You’re alright. Everything is going to be alright.”  

***

Later, after the breathing tube has been removed and Jughead is getting some much-needed sleep, Fred is still awake. He’s talking quietly to Archie who keeps falling in and out of consciousness, smoothing his hair away from his forehead. He’s so relieved that this day didn’t end the way that he originally thought it would. The moment that the gun went off, Fred had feared the funeral plans he would have to make, was overcome with this dread of going home to an empty house.

“You sure know how to scare your old man, you know that, kid?” Fred tells him. “I’m not sure who would have missed you more, me or Jughead. I don’t know what I would have done without you, kid. Thank you for not giving up on me, on all of us.”

Archie, in his state of half awareness, thinks to himself: _I couldn’t leave any of you… I am not done here yet._   

**Author's Note:**

> That was fun, right?
> 
> Thanks for reading! Let me know if you liked it with a comment or a kudos. You can leave prompts here or at my riverdale blog (archieandrewsprotectionsquad). Have a great day!


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